Our cat is spraying indoors

[Shefliesonherownwings]

We've had our boy Basil for 5 years, he's 8 years old. A big tabby bundle of love.

Over the past couple of weeks we think he has been spraying in the house and we can't work out why. We have a passageway which runs the side of our house, which we use as a utility area with washing machine, fridge, cleaning stuff. We have Basil's food and water in the passageway and have done ever since we moved in 18 months ago.

2 weeks ago we woke up to the unmistakable smell of cat pee and narrowed it down to the passageway. We scrubbed it with white wine vinegar which got rid of the smell. We thought another cat may have snuck in and Basil had sprayed to mark his territory. He seemed fine in himself.

This weekend though we smelt it again. I'd bought a UV light and this showed urine in the area where Basil's food is. I was surprised as I didn't think cats sprayed where their food was. Again we cleaned it and moved his food and we've kept an eye on him but he seems fine, eating, drinking, sleeping as normal and going out.

There's not been any big changes lately at home to stress him out so I'm not sure what's going on. Does anyone have any insight into what might be causing him to pee indoors? We're at a bit of a loss.

Is there any way another cat has managed to get in? Does your cat go out? My youngest started getting very territorial and weeing near his food bowl and we couldn’t figure out why, then I saw him being bullied by a neighbourhood Tomcat.

Best I can offer advice wise is to mix one part bio clothes washing powder with hot water and scrub the area affected, it should get rid of the smell and hopefully your cat won’t feel the need to continue spraying there if the scent reminder is gone.

Sorry just saw he does go out (I’m a bit slow today!) when my cat was weeing indoors that was literally the only change we saw, he didn’t become withdrawn or wary of outside, but whenever he’d had a spat with this other cat he’d inevitably wee near his food (marking his territory I suppose), so I put his litter tray a bit closer and between his food bowl and the back door and it seemed to help.

Any change in behaviour normally requires a vet check, though I appreciate that may not be easy at the moment.

When my neutered male began to pee indoors, it was because he had crystals in his urine and required surgery. It could also be a UTI.

I would see if the vet will see him, or at least do a video call with you about it.

Thanks. @NaviSprite yes he goes out. We have a chip activated cat flap so only he can come and go but with the nice weather we've had the doors open so wondered if another cat had come in. We've seen on our security cameras pointed at the backdoor that other cats come into the garden.

@vanillandhoney this is what we are worried about, some sort of bladder issue. Did your cat show any other signs? He seems absolutely fine aside from this issue which is why I wondered if there would be other indicators if it was a UTI or something.

Are you sure there's been no changes? Are family members usually out at work now home all day for example? No redecorating going on? Any slight change to a cats routine can cause stress cystitis, we are seeing a lot of this in cats since lock down. Of course it could just be a new cat in the neighbourhood. I would start off trying feliway plug ins but if it continues or you notice any straining to pass urine then I think you need to call the vet, they may be able to prescribe meds without seeing your cat under current guidelines.

@Shefliesonherownwings the only other sign we had was he was squatting to pee in the wrong place (so not in his litter tray) but nothing was coming out.

Is he spraying against a vertical surface or squatting and urinating normally but in the wrong place?

The two behaviours mean very different things

Also please clean with biological laundry detergent it breaks down the organic components of urine

@Veterinari - do you mind explaining what the different behaviours are? Thank you

@vanillandhoney if he is squatting to pee but nothing is coming out, he may have crystals in his bladder and need an operation.

Squatting is crouching and peeing normally - like they would in the litter tray but just doing this in the wrong place. It has many different triggers - anything from the tray being too dirty, to feline interstitial cystitis, to pain in old cats who struggle to get into the tray.

Spraying is the cat backing up to a vertical surface - wall or furniture and spraying urine against it. It's a territorial/anxiety behaviour and usually relates to a cat trying to normalise the scent profile in the home against a perceived intruder or change in scent eg cats may spray new furniture to make it smell less 'foreign'.

Scent is incredibly important to cats and changing scent profiles are stressful - it's why they regularly rub and mark with their cheek scent. If that doesn't work they may start to spray.

The kind of urinating behaviour gives us clues as to what the underlying triggers may be, medical or behavioural.

@MrsSchadenfreude - this was several years ago! He did have a bad case of crystals and ended up in the vets for nearly a week.

@BlueGheko I have been at home for 6 months as I've been on maternity leave. Sadly we lost our DD to stillbirth so no disruption of a newborn. DH works from home a lot of the time anyway so although he's home fulltime now it's not much of a difference.

We don't have a litter tray for Basil as he goes outside, he has never ever been to the toilet in the house the whole time we've had him. But that means we don't witness him peeing so it's difficult to see if he is straining.

From what the UV light shows I think it is spraying, it's on the walls and floor. This evening we spotted another cat in our garden spraying against our BBQ and a tree. Basil chased it off but now I'm wondering if it is an altercation with another cat that has stressed him. We've just got some feliway today so will spray that around and see if it helps him.

Oh OP so sorry for your loss . Your username is beautifully poignant.

Does sound like stress/anxiety over territory. Is there any way you can deter the intruder cat? Sit in the garden and spray water on it when it comes in maybe? I would also offer a litter tray in case your cat is fearful of going outside. It's not an easy one to solve. Most cats rub along ok but there's always the exceptions, could be an uneutered cat. Hopefully feliway will help somewhat.

I’d keep that door shut so his home is safe & put a tray down. He’s a middle age cat now & would probably appreciate en suite facilities.

@BlueGheko thank you.

DH sprayed water at the other cat but then it came back and ours chased it off again. I'll make sure to spray it if it comes back again. I want Basil to know his territory is safe. I'll look at getting a litter tray. We've used them before when we moved and kept him in and he has no trouble using them. Maybe he would prefer better quality facilities now lol.

I wouldn't be surprised if another cat has came in and either sprayed or left their scent hence your cat spraying

We have a chip activated cat flap and have done for 8-9 years. Can't fault it other than when it's quite windy it doesn't quite close so I keep an eye on it. Another cat could sneak in otherwise

Yes very likely anxiety against the other cat. Keep the door closed and move the food somewhere safer - it's likely enticing the other cat in and also forcing Basil to have to go to the conflict zone to eat. Create a safe haven for Basil further in the house with a litter tray and food bowls nearby.

If you clean the sprayed areas plus the surrounding floor/walls with biological washing powder/liquid then when dry, spray with the feliway, that should discourage further spraying

Provide him with a tray regardless.
Good luck

You can get chip activated bowls too so if he does manage to get in his foods safe.